ON HIS START TO HIS PREMIERSHIP CAREER
“Absolutely, especially being in a winning environment at the moment, it couldn’t really be a better start. The boys put in a great first two performances; that Bath performance was pretty special after a red card after 7 minutes. Coming into the team there is nothing much else to think about other than getting your role right and keeping it simple. I have been given the opportunity to put two in that same corner and luckily scored both of them.”
ADVICE FROM ALEX SANDERSON
“It is all about confidence and momentum. For me it was playing at Sale FC at the time and then got that opportunity with the Premiership Rugby Cup. When Luke unfortunately went down that’s where an opportunity arises for someone who is young and breaking into the team. He (Alex Sanderson) said ‘you’ve doing well at Sale FC and you played well in the Prem Rugby Cup game against Leicester, we want to give you an opportunity, we want to push you and get you breaking into this team and now is the right time.”
COMING UP AGAINST INTERNATIONAL FULLBACKS
“It is always a good challenge, you always want to one up your opposite number in any game. But for me I wasn’t really thinking about who was playing or who we were playing. It was just about sticking to my job; trying to catch balls, get in the right areas and make your tackles for the first game and staying in the game and staying present when you need to be. I think if you can do that consistently then more often than not you should hopefully outplay your opponent and if all 15 players on the pitch do that you hopefully come up with the win and we feel that we are getting to that stage in games where boys are getting their roles right. We are pretty confident and we are coming away with wins week on week at the minute so we are trying to keep that ball rolling.”
DEVELOPMENT AND IMPORTANCE OF GAME TIME AT SALE FC
“I think it was pretty crucial. When you are younger some boys who go to private schools play Wednesday and Saturday for a club team. But when you start coming into this professional environment, with injuries you might not get a game every week unless you’re predicted to be on loan the whole time. Being on loan is about getting minutes under your belt because those lower levels present similar pictures to what you get higher up. It’s just the higher up you get the better standard it is. But you have box kicks, you have opportunities with kicking battles and the opportunity to run. So I think it is all about building confidence out on loan and then when you come back into the Sharks and you are training weekly with the team it’s being confident in the training, putting yourself out there and then hopefully you get an opportunity.”
MAKING THE MOVE FROM YORKSHIRE TO SALE
“For me it was actually quite smooth. It’s only an hour away so it’s not too far from home. I moved into a house with Tom Roebuck, who I knew quite well, and a couple of the older lads at the time. After they moved out of the academy house Arron Reed, Matt Sturgess who has left now, Raffi (Quirke) and James Harper all moved in. I had quite a few years playing against them and then all 4 of us had time in camps with the England Under 18’s and 20’s. So we were all good friends at those camps and away from those camps so moving into that house with those boys made it really easy. They are all my age, all pushing at the same time to do the same thing. Those boys got their opportunity and took it really well last season and the season before. It was a relatively smooth for me and one that was quite an easy decision to make really.
PLAYING WITH HIS PEERS
“We aspire to play with all the massive players like Manu (Tuilagi) and the Currys’. To be able to run out with the guys you live with like Tom Roebuck, Raffi Quirke and James Harper is really special.”
PLAYING ALONGSIDE INTERNATIONAL STARS AT SALE
“When you are not playing and going to every game and sitting in the crowd you are seeing the flames go off when the lads run out. It is a completely different feeling when you are in it. You get that buzz when you run out, you get that excitement but that all goes and it comes down to the rugby. You have those two or three minutes of getting yourself excited and running out. But as soon as that whistle goes you have to zone back in and forget about the crowd and focus on what your job is.
COPING WITH INJURY
“It is always frustrating, no-one wants to be injured. Luke (James) is going through it at the moment. No-one wants to see it or go through it but it’s a part of the game as it’s a contact game. For me it was frustrating; I would get back into it, have a month of getting back into training and fully flying and the have three or four months of hoping to play and train well but then I got injured again and I would have to start that cycle again. You can’t really gain any confidence through that as you are always up and down, in and out. Massively frustrating for me the past few years but I have worked really hard with the S & C and the physios to crunch the numbers for how fast and far we run, what we do in the gym and fingers crossed we have found a good medium where we can get the most out on the field and in the gym but also stay healthy. That is the main thing; the S & C boys have put a massive emphasis on recovery, eating well, getting in the cold baths every day to push that recovery so that we can fight it out in training and to be available for games to push forward. The more boys out there on the field in training the more competition and hopefully the better the weekend looks.”
INSPIRATION SEEING 5 SHARKS IN THE ENGLAND SQUAD
“It is everyone’s dream as a youngster to play for England. Those lads really deserve it. Bevan and Raffi work really hard and it has shown out there on the pitch. For me at the minute I have only played three games I am just focusing on getting better and trying to push every week to put my best foot forward. That is the dream but I am not thinking about that when I’m running out for a game. It’s just getting better, keeping in the Sale system and winning. If you keep winning and keep playing well then you never know what is going to happen. It’s not at the front of my mind at the minute.”
THE THREAT OF HARLEQUINS THIS WEEKEND
“They have scored the most tries off turnovers and off first phase. So for us as a team who like control and pride ourselves on our defence it’s about not giving them those opportunities. For me, no loose kicks; we don’t want to be kicking to the likes of Marcus Smith Joe Marchant who love that open field running. It’s about keeping control and doing things they don’t want to do. For us it’s that physical dominance and shutting down that transition as fast as possible.”
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